Festival & Leadership
Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition
Co-founded and directed by Chaipruck Mekara, the Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition was created not simply to present concerts and competitions, but to provide a platform where emerging musicians could encounter international artists, develop through performance and professional feedback, and form connections across cultures. Based in Chiang Mai and extending through international collaborations, the festival brings together performance, education, competition, and cultural exchange. As Co-Founder and Festival Director, Mekara has helped shape its development while building relationships among musicians, educators, institutions, and audiences in Thailand and internationally.
Leadership Roles
Co-Founder & Festival Director
Co-founded and continues to direct the Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition, contributing to its artistic direction, organisational development, international relationships, and long-term growth.
Artistic & Festival Programming
Works with the festival's artistic leadership and collaborators in developing concerts, competitions, educational activities, international projects, and opportunities for participating musicians.
Conducting
Conducts selected festival performances and collaborative projects, including concerts involving the Chiangmai Philharmonic Orchestra and participating musicians.
Educational Leadership
Contributes to the festival's educational mission by creating opportunities for young musicians to engage with experienced artists through competitions, performances, feedback, masterclasses, and international exchange.
Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Atsuko Seta
Pianist and artistic collaborator, contributing to the festival's artistic direction and international development.
Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition
Vision
The Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition is founded on the conviction that music can move across boundaries of language, culture, and geography. The festival exists to create encounters among musicians from different backgrounds and to encourage artistic exchange through performance, education, competition, and collaboration.
While competition provides a motivating framework for developing musicians, the festival's purpose extends beyond results and awards. Musical development also takes place through masterclasses, rehearsals, professional feedback, performances, conversations, and encounters with artists and fellow participants. These experiences create opportunities for musicians to listen, question, exchange ideas, and develop their individual artistic perspectives.
Participants, faculty, collaborators, and audiences have come from different countries, institutions, and musical backgrounds, creating an environment in which music becomes a shared language for artistic and cultural exchange. The festival values curiosity, collaboration, professional engagement, and respect for the different musical experiences that each participant brings.
Educational Mission
Education is central to the Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition. Through competitions, masterclasses, professional feedback, performances, and international activities, the festival creates opportunities for developing musicians to encounter experienced artists and different musical perspectives. Its educational purpose extends beyond competition results toward artistic growth, exchange, and continued engagement with music.
The festival encourages participants to work toward increasingly high artistic standards, respond constructively to professional feedback, encounter different approaches to performance and interpretation, and learn through interaction with musicians from different backgrounds. Artistic confidence develops through preparation, performance, listening, reflection, and the experience of participating in a wider musical community.
The festival seeks to provide experiences that participants can carry forward into their continuing musical development. Encounters with faculty, fellow participants, repertoire, performance opportunities, and international perspectives can become part of a longer process of artistic growth. The relationships created through these activities also contribute to an expanding network of musicians connected through the festival.
Building Musical Communities
The Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition is built around relationships among performers, educators, students, institutions, collaborators, and audiences. Through competitions, concerts, educational activities, and international collaborations, the festival creates opportunities for musicians from different backgrounds to encounter one another through shared artistic work.
Over time, this approach has allowed the festival to develop beyond a single annual event. Its activities and collaborations have connected musicians and projects in Chiang Mai with international partners and performance contexts, extending the festival's network across borders while maintaining its roots in Northern Thailand.
Mentorship and exchange remain important to this process. By bringing developing musicians into contact with experienced artists and with peers from different backgrounds, the festival encourages learning that takes place not only through instruction, but through listening, performance, collaboration, and professional dialogue.
Festival Gallery
Continuing the Journey
The Chiangmai Ginastera International Music Festival & Competition continues to evolve through the dedication of its artists, participants, collaborators, audiences, and partners. Each new chapter builds upon the artistic relationships and international connections developed through the festival, while exploring new ways for musicians to meet, perform, learn, and collaborate across cultures.
Visit the Official CGIMF Website →